Kieran Edward Richardson (born 21 October 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger, left-back, or central midfielder.

[citation needed] He made his first appearance for Manchester United on 23 October 2002 when coming on as a late substitute in a match against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League.

[12] Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson, manager of West Bromwich Albion, enquired about loaning Richardson, the deal was done straight away.

He scored three goals from 12 appearances[11] as West Bromwich successfully avoided relegation, despite starting the final day of the season on the bottom of the table.

[15] He made his break in Manchester United's first eleven in September 2005, when he appeared as an emergency left back, in place of the injured Gabriel Heinze.

[18] However, Richardson felt Alex Ferguson's wrath as the youngster shouldered some of the blame for United's below-par performance against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup.

[citation needed] He scored one of United's goals in the 4–1 FA Cup semi-final win over Watford, that put them into the final at the new Wembley Stadium.

[27] Richardson attracted interest from Bolton Wanderers in the 2009 January transfer window, but manager Ricky Sbragia insisted that he was not for sale.

[29] Richardson was used in several positions throughout the season, whilst predominantly featuring in central midfield he also played at left back – his performances there led to many touting him as a surprise World Cup inclusion.

[citation needed] Richardson made his 100th Premier League appearance for Sunderland at home to Tottenham Hotspur on 12 February, assisting Asamoah Gyan's opener in a 2–1 defeat.

[citation needed] Richardson was on target again in a defeat at Wolves under caretaker manager Eric Black, following Steve Bruce's departure.

In this match against Wolves on 4 December 2011, Richardson scored the opening goal, a long range shot from the left, and celebrated by removing his shirt, revealing a T-shirt with the slogan "I belong to Jesus".

[citation needed] Richardson got his first assist in a 2–1 victory against Hull City at Villa Park, sliding in a low cross which Andreas Weimann slotted home from 10 yards.

[citation needed] Richardson received a straight red card on 13 December 2014 for a late challenge on Stéphane Sessègnon during a 1–0 away defeat to West Brom.

[citation needed] After a series of convincing performances for West Brom, he won a late call-up for England's trip to the United States at the end of 2004–05.

[citation needed] He started the match against the United States and scored twice on his England debut, including one directly from a free kick.

[45] After earning senior caps, Richardson also returned to the under-21 squad, playing in both legs of the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-off against France, which they lost 3–2 on aggregate.